Rallies for Religious Freedom -- Washington D.C.

Susan Fegley Osmond
May 30, 1984

Washington D.C., May 30, 1984. Priests, ministers and lay leaders stand up at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Hotel and pledge to stay in prison for one week with Rev. Moon.

Over 300 clergy and approximately 200 laymen, including civil liberties leaders and political figures, gathered in Washington, D.C., on May 30 to denounce the threat to religious liberties posed by Rev. Moon's conviction and the recent refusal by the Supreme Court to hear his appeal.

"I don't believe, in the history of America, that we have ever had such a religiously diverse group as we have in this room today," commented Rev. Timothy LaHaye of San Diego, California, one of the main organizers of the event. More than 60 religious denominations and a great diversity of political opinions were represented at the rally, held in the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the foot of the Capitol.

The purpose of the rally was to bring forth a united voice of concern over the infringements of religious liberties in America. The event was organized by the co-chairmen of the Ad Hoc Commit- tee for Religious Freedom, Dr. Timothy LaHaye, president of Family Life Seminars and chairman of the Moral Majority of California, and Dr. Joseph Lowery, chairman of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) -- who themselves represent opposite ends of the religious and political spectrum.

"The government's persecution of Rev. Moon is one of the most flagrant abuses of the First Amendment that I have ever seen," declared Rev. Bob Grant, chairman of the evangelistic lobbying group Christian Voice, and a leader of Christians for Reagan in 1980.

No, the federal government has set a precedent whereby it can dictate how a church should be organized, and how it should administer its internal financial affairs. Now any controversial pastor -- including most of us who are here on this platform -- or any unpopular church can be subjected to arbitrary persecution by a biased government and a jury. Who will be next?

Jeremiah Gutman, president of the New York Civil Liberties Union, listed numerous governmental intrusions into religious affairs. He cited Father's conviction and the jailing of Rev. Sileven in Nebraska for running an uncertified Christian school. Gutman moreover claimed, '"there is a policy in this country, it's a written policy by the Justice Department and the FBI, never to prosecute a deprogramming ordered by a parents of an adult church member." He also bemoaned the social security tax recently imposed upon all religious organizations and their employees.

Rev. Mamie Williams, a United Methodist minister in Baltimore who regularly supports liberal causes, summed up the purpose of the meeting:

Unless we speak out on this issue, and on other issues, we will perish. For we [Americans] have been blessed more than any other people in the world, and it is because of this that we are to be examples for the world. Rev. Moon, at this time in our history, is indeed a martyr on behalf of all of us. Our time under God is now, and as we walk together on this issue, I pray God that we walk together on others as well.

Other speakers included Congressman George Hansen, author of "To Harass Our People: The IRS and Government Abuse of Power"; Rabbi David Ben Ami, chairman of the American Forum of Jewish -- Christian Cooperation; Rev. Greg Dixon, president of the American Coalition of Unregistered Churches; and Dr. Richard Rubenstein, Lawton Distinguished Professor of Religion at Florida State University. (For excerpts from the speeches of Professor Rubenstein, Rev. Timothy LaHaye and Rev. Lowery see following pages).

At the conclusion of the rally, which observers commented was charged throughout with electric energy and enthusiasm, Rev. LaHaye asked all in the audience who would volunteer to spend a week in jail with Rev. Moon to stand up. Without hesitation, almost all of the audience arose. There was a pause, and then thunderous cheering and applause broke from the crowd.

In offering the final prayer, Rev. Lewis Parker of the Church of Christ in Houston, Texas declared, "We came prepared to go to jail with Rev. Moon if necessary. Not only are we going to give one week, but I hope, should Rev. Moon go to jail, that as many of us as can from across this nation will come and march seven times seven days around that jail, and continue through the seventy-two weeks [of Rev. Moon's confinement]. Then when they release Rev. Moon from jail we will all converge and take one last March; we'll march with him out of that penal institution. God be our helper."

Participants afterwards signed the Religious Liberty Proclamation, and on the back of this document signed their commitment to go to jail with Father. The clergymen voiced their determination to contact many other ministers and to take the light of this rally, like a torch, to ignite rallies throughout the nation on behalf of religious liberty. Following the rally the clergymen visited their senatorial and congressional representatives to convey their indignation over Father's tax case and other governmental intrusions into the religious sector.

Within a few weeks of this initial meeting, rallies have been held throughout the nation, all sponsored by the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Freedom.